When you build a website, it is important to consider the various users who will be accessing the site. You want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and understands the information that is being conveyed.
This is where tree testing comes in as a critical part of planning your website. Similarly to software testing, website testing involves analyzing every aspect of a site with a primary goal of identifying defects and other issues.
Tree testing is a type of software testing that focuses on analyzing code and data structures in computer programs. To understand more about what tree testing can do for your website design process and why it matters, read on below!
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What is website tree testing?
To understand tree testing you need to know what is UX research. Tree testing is a UX research process of testing your website with real people to find out if they can find the information that they are looking for, if the layout of the content is helpful, and if they understand what the website is trying to tell them.
You do tree testing by recruiting a small group of people and testing different variations of your website or landing page to see what they click on, how deep into the content they go, and whether they understand the message you are trying to send.
Steps to start conducting website tree testing
If you want to start conducting website tree testing, there are a few steps that you will need to follow.
- Define objectives: The first thing you need to do is know your objectives and what you intend to archive
- Choose tools and methods: There are many tools in the market you can choose from. Your tool of choice should be reliable. You can try tools such as Maze or conduct in person tests
- Build the tree and write down the tasks: Define the structure by having main categories and subcategories in your tree structure
- Recruit participants and execute the test: Use real people to conduct the tests to get honest feedback about the results. You can invite people to conduct tests and even pay them to scrutinize your website.
- Analyze results: Set time aside to go through the results with your team and brainstorm on how to fix issues that arise and get to come up with solutions to improve your website.
How Can Website Tree Testing Benefit Your Business?
While there are many benefits of website tree testing, ensuring that your site operates efficiently is the top priority. If your website’s code is messy or unorganized, it could be slowing down your site. With web-based tree testing, helps you to:
1. Identify UX Issues
If you want to identify UX issues on your site, you first need to understand what UX research is then use the path testing method. This will allow you to identify any issues that exist along the user experience path by testing each path against a set of criteria.
After you’ve tested every path, you should compare the results against the criteria to identify any issues. You can then use the tree testing tool to create a report that lists all of these issues.
2. Test the usability of your navigation
Your website navigation needs to be a smooth experience for your users. The usability and layout of your site need to be consistent across all pages. The navigation in your website needs to be easy to navigate, as well as clear and easy to understand. Tree testing aids you to test the navigation of your site with a variety of navigation methods, such as:
- Test the usability of your home page: Your website design needs to be consistent across all pages. Your home page needs to be easy to navigate, as well as clear and easy to understand.
- Test the usability of your header images: Your header image needs to be consistent across all pages. Your header image needs to be easy to navigate, as well as clear and easy to understand.
3. Validate ideas before designing
Tree testing aids you to first validate your ideas before implementing them on your design. This helps you to choose the best design for your website, and to make sure that the design will work well on all of your websites.
Your website design needs to be eye-catching and unique. Your website needs to be easy to navigate, as well as clear and easy to understand. A well designed website brings back the original charm of your website and is a powerful tool to bring back users again and again.
4. Tree testing validates website organization
Your website organization is a key factor in how your website will be perceived by the user.
Tree testing aids you to identify navigation issues. You can test the navigation on your site with a variety of navigation types and navigation categories.
Tree testing will identify discrepancies in diverse navigation categories. You can test the navigation on your site with a variety of navigation types and navigation categories.
Tree tests help you to identify navigational issues. It’s useful in identifying vague or ambiguous categories.
This helps you to get rid of unnecessary information that might be causing confusion in the user’s mind, while also helping you to locate those areas that need more attention.
5. Tree testing saves time
Tree testing gives you informative results in a short period of time. Tree testing is done on a website’s front-end, back-end, or both. You test the site structure and compare with other designs to determine the most appropriate structure for your site.
You can test design elements such as navigation links, do follow and no follow links, images and text, testimonials, and links to social media. Tree tests are commonly used by SEO specialists from companies such as Google and Bing . These tools are very similar in nature so it is easy for them to understand each other’s results without any difficulty at all.
6. It helps identify navigation issues
Website users like being able to navigate through a website easily. You need to ensure that your website navigation is smooth on all devices and browsers. Accurate navigation helps improve your website's user experience, and help you to create a great looking website.
Tree testing helps to identify navigation issues, which can be a source of frustration for users. You should test your website navigation to ensure that it is the best possible navigation you can have.
A well designed website helps users to find their way around a website. It helps them to quickly find the right content and simple navigation that will lead them to their desired destination. Make your site easier to use and more engaging on all devices and browsers.
7. Define user experience paths
You should define the user experience paths that you want to test on your site. This will help you map out the journey that a user will take when they visit your site. After you’ve identified the paths you want to test, you should use your testing tool to create the test cases needed to confirm or deny these paths exist.
This will help you determine if the path is valid or if you need to make changes to the code to accommodate the desired functionality. If you want to test a certain functionality on your site, you should identify which path it falls under. When you know the path, you can create a test case for the functionality to ensure it is working properly.
8. It’s useful in identifying vague categories
Tree testing can identify vague and ambiguous categories on your website and identify the best strategy to address them. If you want to improve your website navigation on all devices and browsers, use tree testing to identify irrelevant information and then use the best possible navigation that you can.
9. It helps uncover buried content
When building a website, some things can be hidden within the site. Tree testing helps uncover these problems. You guide the users to certain hidden information by using call to actions and directing them to the information they are looking for.
Summing up
Tree testing is a useful tool that will help you pinpoint deficiencies on your website so that you can correct them before launch. This helps you address any major issues before they become serious problems that have a negative impact on your traffic and conversions.
Before you get started, you should create a test plan that outlines what parts of the system you want to test. Next, you should select the appropriate test tool for your testing needs. Finally, you should write the test cases that will be used to analyze your website. When you follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way to conducting efficient website tree testing.
About the Author: Cosmas Mwirigi
Cosmas alias Cosii-Riggz is a technology enthusiast and SAAS writer who helps clients understand products by explaining services for businesses.
He has been featured in websites such as PV Magazine and Bitcoin Kenya. During his free time, he likes traveling to new places and exploring what's new on the internet.